WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in March compared with February and slowed overall hiring, underscoring a weak month of job growth.
The Labor Department says job openings fell 1.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million jobs. Total hiring declined 4.3 percent to 4.3 million.
A separate report Friday showed employers added just 138,000 net jobs in March, well below February's 332,000. Tuesday's report shows that the slowdown occurred because gross hiring fell and layoffs increased.
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The unemployed faced heavy competition in March. There were 3.1 unemployed people, on average, for each job opening. That's above the ratio of 2 to 1 that is typical in a healthy economy.
Job growth picked up in April. The economy added 165,000 net jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent.
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